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Web
Design Promotion and Business Tips
This section of our web site is constantly updated with new
information so check back often.
Tip of the Week December 3
We
have a new section on our main site, with tons of articles
and more on the way. You can check out the article index by
clicking
here.
Tip
of the Week October 29
Four
tidbits from our newsletter
in October.
Niche
Engines and Directories
+++++++++++++++++
o THE CONCEPT
There are thousands of search engines on the net. Many of
them are becoming more focused as they target in on a ‘niche’
market. This allows surfers to find related sites more easily.
o THE GOOD
Adding your site to these niche engines not only will bring
you some targeted traffic, but they will also add to your
link relevancy.
o THE BAD
There is really nothing bad that I can see, it does take a
bit of time to find, and submit to them. Think of this as
an investment in your business and you can smile while you
work.
o OPTIONS AND LINKS Some examples of places to find niche
engines include: http://allwebdirectories.com/
http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/
You can also do a specific search using your favorite search
engine. Example – I would search for web promotion directories
(or search engines).
Offline ways - Networking
+++++++++++++++++
Networking
is important for your business not only online, but offline
as well. Many contacts that you make offline can help your
business to grow. An easy way to start networking offline
is to visit a meeting of your Chambers of Commerce. Many of
these meetings are open (i.e. you don’t have to be a member
to attend). Make sure that you take plenty of business cards
(we’ll discuss business cards in a future issue) and an open
mind.
There
are also other clubs and groups that you can join – check
out your yellow pages for more information.
Offline ways –Ad Swaps
+++++++++++++++++
It
is a simple concept. You include other webmasters advertising
(business card, brochure, catalog) information in mailings
(thank you notes, packages, etc) to your clients and they
do the same thing. You can start doing this by looking at
your link lists and joint venture ideas that we talked about
earlier. There are also services on the net that do this for
you. One of them is MomPack.
http://www.mompack.com/
Offline ways - Creativity
+++++++++++++++++
Promoting
and marketing your site is really only limited by your imagination.
Make sure to: Target your market. Use it to boost sales, new
subscribers.
Here
is an example which might help to get you thinking. Let’s
say that I sell roller blades. Our target audience is mostly
teens and early 20’s. I gather up some friends and hold a
free car wash in an area that is frequented by our target
audience. The car washers are all on our blades and before
we start washing the car, we hand them our latest catalog,
along with a coupon for our latest style. We have samples
of our product line with us and if possible (regarding zoning,
laws, etc.) we have some of our products that folks can purchase.
We also ask them for their email address so that we can send
them our newsletter.
Again
this is only an example – let your imagination loose.
Tip
of the Week October 1st
A
POWER TECHNIQUE FOR BOOSTING SALES
by David Alexander
So you've built your site and started to promote it. You're
getting some sales, but you want to generate more. There is
one simple sales technique that almost every Internet marketing
expert agrees will DRAMATICALLY boost your sales every single
day - follow up with your prospects.
The
bottom line is this - if you want to vastly increase the number
of your visitors who turn into valued customers, you need
to contact them over and over. Through a series of messages,
you need to convey the emotional and logical reasons why they
MUST buy your product.
If
you assume that your visitors are going to buy from you on
their first and only visit to your site, you are mistaken.
It just doesn't happen that quickly. Approximately 80% of
sales are made AFTER the initial contact. Do you see how many
sales you could be losing if you don't initiate further contact?
Consider
your site's visitors perspective. Do you grab your credit
card every time you pass through a store and see something
you like? It doesn't mean you're going to buy it right then
and there. When you decide to buy it, do you go back to that
same store? Maybe, maybe not! Would you be more inclined to
buy from a particular store if the sales associate gave you
a courtesy call?
So
how do you follow up for maximum effect and what tools and
techniques should you use?
o
The Tools
Begin
by realizing that you can't do all this by yourself! Suppose
you get 500 visitors a day to your site and one in fifty of
them requests information. That's ten e-mails you're going
to have to send manually for the next few days or weeks. And
tomorrow you get another ten, and the next day another ten...
can you imagine how complicated managing this process could
be?
What
is the best management tool available? Sequential or follow-up
autoresponders.
Autoresponders
are the e-mail equivalent of "fax-on-demand" systems. Someone
sends your autoresponder an e-mail or subscribes to it on
your web site and the autoresponder sends the messages and
manages the follow-up process from that point. It does the
managing for you!
A
good autoresponder system will send out the right message
on the right day, address your prospect by name, keep track
of the follow-up sequence while automatically building you
a database of interested contacts.
Most
web site hosting packages come with autoresponders. Usually,
however, these send out a single message and therefore can't
be used for continually following up with prospects. Instead,
you can pay monthly fees to an autoresponder service or install
software on your site and run them directly from there.
o
The Techniques
So
what techniques can you employ in your follow-up messages
to turn your prospect into a customer?
-
Technique 1: Build Trust and Credibility The more you
contact your prospect with useful and relevant information,
the more they will assume you can be trusted. By offering
valuable credible information, you prove to your prospect
that you know what you are talking about.
-
Technique 2: Create the Emotional Reason to Buy With each
message you send, you can work on the need or desire that
your product will satisfy. More money to pay for that holiday?
More free time to spend with the family? Less stress? People
buy because they WANT something, secondly because they NEED
it.
- Technique 3: Increase the Offer Gradually increase
the perceived value of your offer until your prospect has
to find reasons not to buy from you! You can do this by offering
free bonuses, discounts, or free shipping. But here's the
golden rule - all of them must be time-limited to push your
prospect to make that final decision.
-
Technique 4: Logical Justification People buy for emotional
reasons, but they need that decision backed by solid logical
reasons. Your follow-up plan should include logical reasons
why your prospect should buy - reasons based on facts and
figures, not on emotional desire alone.
-
Technique 5: Avoid the After-Sale Blues How many times
have you bought something and then immediately regretted it?
You can avoid this situation (and refunds) after the sale
by reassuring your new customer their decision to purchase
was a good one. You simply need to remind them that your product
will save time, increase sales, boost site traffic, help them
lose weight or whatever. They have already bought it - they
just need reminding what it will do for them.
In
summary, to dramatically increase your ratio of visitors to
sales, you ABSOLUTELY MUST follow up with your prospects and
site visitors. It works, it's proven, and it's easy if you
use the right tools.
=========================================================
David
Alexander is Product Manager for AutoResponse Plus, the Internet's
leading autoresponder software for web sites.
http://www.autoresponseplus.com/hop.php?s=BL01
Subscribe FREE to the AutoResponse Top Ten Tips! These easy
to implement tips will show you how to build a highly effective
autoresponder strategy. FREE "Autoresponder Magic" e-book
for every reader! Click the link below to send a blank e-mail
to: mailto:tips@autoresponseplus.com?subject=html
==========================================================
Tip
of the Week Sept. 17
What
a horrible tragedy our nation faced last week. So what can
you do as a business owner or entrepreneur. Here is an article
we included in our last Blitz Ezine newsletter. Hopefully
you can get some benefit out of the information.
Yesterday's
attack was not just an attack on physical buildings - it was
an attack on *your* business. It doesn't matter where you
live - businesses around the world were attacked yesterday
- make no mistake.
Some
fear this attack will be "the straw that broke the camel's
back" and send us spinning into a new depression. I have to
admit that yesterday, my first reaction was a poor one.
Frankly,
I was ready for war and even told people to protect themselves
for such. Some people mistook my advice to mean, "Take guns
to the streets and riot." Yikes. After the fact, I realized
that *the* most important thing was to remain calm. I quickly
began urging everyone to do so. However, now that we're all
calm and collected, should we allow this to lower our spirits?
Demoralizing our people and paralyzing our country is exactly
what the terrorists want. Does it have to be so?
Yesterday
evening I realized it was time to get back to business. I
gave a friend of mine that advice and it was met with great
resistance. My friend said, "Have some respect for the victims
of the bombings! This needs to be a time of mourning."
Hmmm...
I wonder. Is that really the best thing? I had to respectfully
disagree with my friend. I told him that the worst thing we
can do is to do nothing. Yes we need to mourn, we need to
grieve, but we also need to move forward. I pray that those
who lost their lives, their friends and their families will
not take this the wrong way. They truly have my deepest sympathies,
and every fiber of my being screams out for justice, resolution,
and peace. We all feel this way, but we need to pick up the
pace of commerce and industry again with a renewed sense of
resolve.
I
don't know about you, but
I refuse to let this cowardly attack change my way of life
or destroy my business - the business I have sacrificed so
much for in the last 7 years. My business will move forward.
Next week we will release a new product right on schedule.
Do not think for a second that moving forward with your business
is disrespectful of the victims of this attack.
YOU
were a victim of this attack. This was an attack on your freedom,
with the aim of paralyzing your way of life and the way you
conduct your business. Conducting business as usual is disrespectful
of no one - except the cowards who are responsible for these
acts.
Here
is my plan. If you join me in this, you'll be doing your part
to get the economy - and our spirits - roaring back:
1.
Market your products today with no sense of shame. Do so with
pride. As an act of defiance, engage in your marketing as
you normally would... Better - do so with renewed enthusiasm.
2. There is a purchase you've been putting off... Put it off
no longer. Make that purchase today.
3. Buy one product from one of your competitors.
4. Buy one thing that you don't need, but have wanted for
a long time.
5. When the markets open, buy a few shares with "going long"
in mind.
I
urge you to begin again today with a renewed resolve. Let's
show these cowards we will not be stopped. Forward this message
to all of your friends. Join with me to stop the virus of
terrorism and spread the news of prosperity and hope.
Let's
do this. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. Right now.
All the best,
Mark Joyner
CEO, Aesop.com
Tip
of the Week Sept. 3
Hopefully
everyone had a great Labor Day. This week we talked about
ways to promote your ezine in our Blitz Ezine. If you have
never thought about starting a newsletter... what's stopping
you? It does take a bit of work to get one started, but the
results will be well worth your time, money and effort. A
great link for tips on starting your own ezine can be found
here:
http://www.ezineuniversity.com/
Tip
of the Week August 26
Is
your website easy to bookmark? Many times folks may be in
a hurry the first time they browse your site, so the easier
you make it for them to bookmark, the more follow-up traffic
you'll receive. There are some easy scripts that will allow
folks to bookmark your site with one click. Some of these
can be found by clicking the link below.
Easy
Bookmark Scripts
Tip
of the Week August 19
Many
people neglect one of the easiest ways to promote your own
site.. your signature file in your email. These 4 or 5 lines
can advertise your business. They don't have to be fancy (although
they can be). Insert your name, small business description
and links. You will be surprised how many folks click on it.
Tip
of the Week August 12
We're
in the process of evaluating a traffic generation system.
We
discovered an extremely important new website today and wanted
to pass the information on to you: http://www.startblaze.com/cgi-bin/intro.cgi?73934
This is a very interesting new free traffic building system.
It takes only a few minutes to get started. We'll keep you
posted on how it goes.
Tip
of the Week August 5
Ten
Ways to Find Your Next Customer - all these and more will
be fully detailed in the months to come in our Blitz Ezine.
1.
Follow up with your current customers.
2. Joint Ventures.
3. Reciprical Links.
4. Join a Business Community.
5. Post articles about your niche.
6. Ad Swaps.
7. Business Cards.
8. Your Newsletter.
9. Contests.
10. Free stuff.
Tip
of the Week July 29
One
of the things our ezine is going to showcase this late summer/
fall / winter is 100 ways to promote your website. You can
sign up for the ezine in the right hand column. In order to
prepare for this we need some tools for our arsenal. The most
important tool (besides your website of course) is:
Business
Cards
VistaPrint
offers 250 business cards for free - all you pay for is shipping
and handling. Their cards look nice and you will usually get
them in less than a week.
Click
here for details.
You
can also print your own - using your printer. Try some using
this handy tool from 7 print - Click
here.
Tip
of the Week July 22
Beware
of a virus that's making the rounds this week. I've gotten
at least ten emails that have been infected with it, so make
sure to be on the look out. Here is some more information
about this specific virus.
Link
One - Link
Two
General
Virus tips-
- Don't
open any email attachments unless you a) know the person
that is sending them to you and b) know that they are actually
supposed to be sending you a file.
- Keep
your virus programs up to date. Put it on your to do list
at least weekly to update with new definitions.
- Even
if I know and am expecting attachments, the only files I'll
open are .jpg, .gif, and .pdf, I consider all the other
ones infected.
- If
you do get infected and it does work its way on your system,
do everything in your power to warn those that you may have
infected.
- Keep
your email programs up to date. Patches are available from
many of the manufacturers. If you use Outlook or Outlook
express you can find them by clicking
here: Then click on product updates.
Tip
of the Week July 15
This
weeks tip is going to be easy (well except for those of you
that are work-aholics. Since it is summer time and the internet
is a bit slow, now is the time for you to take some time off
to recharge the batteries. Here are five simple ways to do
this:
First
the ground rules -
- No
email.
- No
Laptops
- No
Business Calls
1.
Take your family for a long weekend at an amusement park near
your home. Just a few days away will help you tons. We just
did this and take my word for it... it was great.
2.
If you don't want to travel then unplug for a weekend. Don't
use your computer for work, you're allowed to play on it.
Spend time with your family.
3.
Go camping. This is one sure way to get away. It is no fair
to take generators, cell phones etc.
4.
Have a week of half days. Work in the mornings and do something
fun in the afternoons for a week.
5.
Get your family to list ten things they would like to do with
you and then start working on the list.
Life
is short, remember to take some time to enjoy the fruits of
your labors.
Tip
of the Week July 8
Promoting
your site with forums.
1.
Go to this index on the web. There are a ton of different
forums listed on this site. http://www.entrepreneur-web.com/index_1.shtml
2. Lurk around a bit. Find some questions that people have
that you can answer. Don't post a blatant ad, but nobody says
that you can't list your sig line when you post.
3. Continue to post at least a couple of times a week to the
same board. This will make you one of the 'regulars'.
4. As you help folks, your traffic will slowly and steadily
increase.
Tip
of the week - July 1
We
have added a new free
help/articles section, make sure to check it out.
Tip
of the week - June 25th
This
tip was sent to me by Carol Daly who edited our ebook.
Promoting
Your Online Business Means Reaching PEOPLE
by Carol Auclair Daly
Promoting your online business is a big job and a constant
job - one that requires more than just making sure that you're
listed with all the search engines. . . certainly more than
exchanging a few banners. . . and definitely more than sending
out emails through purchased lists of addresses. Sometimes
we forget that behind these computer screens, there are people
-- real people. And in spite of their love affair with technology,
most of them still want to deal with "real people" when it
comes to purchasing goods and services, or taking advice.
To get the best possible exposure for your online venture,
you need publicity to humanize your company and to take the
business to the people, instead of waiting for them to find
you.
URL
promotion is a great start and a necessary step in this process;
but if you think it's enough, think again. In order to adequately
market your business, you need to combine your URL promotion
with a little creative publicity and go after your target
audience. And who is your target audience? Well, it's certainly
not the search engine robots! It's PEOPLE!
Being
an Online Entrepreneur - It's Not Your Father's Business World
. . .Or Is It?
Because
they've been led to believe by cyber industry gurus that doing
business online is somehow above that of the local shopkeeper
. . . more sophisticated . . . more technologically "hip"
if you will . . . business owners often believe that URL promotion
is the only effort required in the cyber marketplace. Those
leading them to believe that are partially responsible for
the early demise of so many online businesses. If anything,
doing business online requires twice the effort of a local
business when it comes to advertising and marketing techniques.
When a local shopkeeper hangs out his sign and opens his doors
for business for the first time, there are certain things
he does automatically: run a big grand opening ad - maybe
even hold a sale - and put a "GRAND OPENING" sign in the window;
invite all his friends and neighbors to come by and bring
a friend; buy a listing in the Yellow Pages of the telephone
book; hire some kids to put flyers on windshields in parking
lots; buy some radio advertising, or a TV spot; join the local
Chamber of Commerce and do a little "schmoozing" at the After
Hours events to be "seen." He'll keep a handy supply of business
cards in his wallet or pocket to give out to everyone he meets,
and maybe even scribble a little personal note on the back
authorizing a discount if you stop by and make a purchase.
A good businessman NEVER turns off his marketing switch. He
watches for opportunities to be recognized. He listens for
chances to make a sales pitch. He searches for new markets
and ways to diversify for growth. He's "ON" all the time.
And so should YOU be! "Ridiculous!" you say. "Online businesses
are different. We're technology based. If I just do some good
URL promotion - keep up those search engine ratings - watch
my META tags and keywords - submit everything regularly -
that's the key in the new marketplace!" Is it now? Then why
are you getting 1000 hits a day, and only making 6 sales a
month (or less)? Hmmm. You won't be making your online business
your primary source of income anytime soon that way!
Maybe
it's time you ignore cyber "experts" for a little while and
take a few pointers from the physical business world. Think
about it. If the guy who runs the local office supply company
in a town where he's lived his whole life, still has to get
out there every day and "play the game," why would anyone
think they could make even a dent in the "whole world" market
by simply saying, "I'm open for business?" The whole world
doesn't know you! And if you want them to, you'd better think
about doing some serious promotion.
START
WITH PROMOTING YOUR URL
OK.
So you see where I'm headed here. You need a marketing plan
and you need to work that plan every day all year long. And
no question about it, Step #1 in your plan to market your
online business MUST be URL promotion, for the same reason
that your father advertised his business in the Yellow Pages.
It's a way to be found - even if by accident.
FINISH THE JOB WITH INTENSIVE, TARGETED PUBLIC RELATIONS
Good
URL promotion AND good publicity together can do wonders for
your business --- put you in the right place to be found,
AND give your business a face and a personality that people
can relate to. In addition to the need for the top spot in
the search engine listings, small businesses also need to
GO where they can be SEEN - go where the people are, not just
sit and wait for people to find you. Go where the people are
most likely to be in the market for your product or service,
and WOW them with all the reasons they can't do without you!
Keep your eyes and your ears open – always be ready to try
something new. And if one thing doesn't work out, keep on
thinking and planning until it all comes together. Work on
becoming proficient at recognizing emerging opportunities
for promotion and seize the moment to grasp them!
There
are other things that come under the heading of online marketing
-- major networking and cross promotion with other small businesses
for instance; creating and distributing press releases (but
only when the moment is right); working within a business
"community" in order to expand your reach; participating in
online clubs or efforts; constant researching of new contacts
and possible link sites. It's a never-ending cycle of things
to be done and contacts to be made that can overwhelm the
small business owner trying to go it alone. But it's every
bit as necessary as URL promotion if you are going to succeed.
Your
one-on-one targeted public relations effort is that missing
human factor in the world of cold technology. Without it,
your business has no "face," "no soul" - nothing that says,
"Real people work here, and we're here to serve you."
Marketing
your online business and guiding it toward success is more
technologically complex than a local storefront - no question.
But you're still dealing with people - people who want to
know you, see you, and come to trust you as a serious, competent
businessperson. If you don't make proper use of strong networking
skills, public relations opportunities and URL promotion,
your little company may not be around long enough to grow.
Take it seriously and promote it in every way possible.
© Creative
Enterprises, 1999-2001
Re-printed with permission. Carol Auclair Daly is the owner
of Creative
Enterprises, www.creativethought.com, an online community
for small and home-based businesses.
Add
Testimonials to Increase your Sales
Testimonials
are one of the things many webmasters forget about when marketing
their web site to the millions of Internet users. When you
use them correctly they will greatly add to the credibility
of your product or service.
Here
are some tips on adding testimonials.
Use
only real testimonials.
Testimonials
that are more than a sentence long are more believable than
short snippets.
Don't
edit the testimonial when it comes in. Just cut and paste
it.
Include
the contact information for the person that gives the testimonial
(with their permission of course).
How
to get testimonials.
Some
you will get just from people who buy your products. In your
thank-you letter to them ask if they mind you using their
comment as a testimonial (most won't mind).
Another
way to get them is to write to your current customers. Tell
them that you are currently compiling a list of things people
like and or benefited from with your product or service.
Once
you get some testimonials you can use them on your website,
catalogs, print advertising, newsletter and more.
 Your
homework this week is to:
- Post testimonials
that you already have.
- Ask your current
customers for some testimonials.
We
are currently working on a brand new version of the Web Page
Planner to be released in June - you can purchase a pre-release
copy for Nine Bucks ($9.00)
Any
questions please feel free to email
us.
Yours in success.
Tim and Lisa Hamblin
Click
Here to Order Now
or
call us @ 1-606-439-4575
M-F 8am - 5pm EST
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